Tokyo — A South Korean man holding banners with political messages was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly disrupting the annual Spring Festival in Tokyo Yasukuni ShrineJapanese police said.
The shrine honors Japan’s 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. Victims of Japanese aggression before and during World War II, particularly in China and Korea, view a visit to the shrine as a lack of repentance regarding Japan’s wartime past.
The 64-year-old suspect was carrying a banner with messages including one urging “war criminals” to stop praying at Yasukuni and another making territorial claims on the island disputed between Japan and South Korea.
Kyodo news agency said the man was standing at the gate of the main temple and in front of vehicles carrying the emperor’s messengers. The temple said on its website that the messengers were to distribute offerings on behalf of the emperor.
Prime Minister on Tuesday… Sanae Takaichiwho regularly prays at the temple, sent a religious ornament to Japan for the second time as leader of Japan, drawing criticism from China and South Korea.
A group of over 100 right-wing MPs, including a cabinet minister, offered prayers at the temple on Wednesday.
___
Associated Press video journalist Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.
